The present invention relates to an orthodontic bracket positioner applicable to a teeth arrangement using inner sides of the teeth for bracket attachment.
In general, an orthodontic therapy for teeth arrangement includes a direct bracket bonding method and an indirect bracket bonding method. For the direct bonding, a plurality of brackets are bonded on target teeth sides within an orthodontic patient's oral cavity. For the conventional indirect bonding, the orthodontic brackets are initially attached to a plaster model with eye-watching to realize a more precise bracket position and then transferred into the oral cavity to bond the brackets onto target teeth sides. However, it is not easy to get an accurate bracket position even on the plaster model especially in lingual sides without using any kind of instrument.
So to improve the accuracy of the lingual bracket position, Korea Patent Application No. 1998-008587 by the present inventor has disclosed an improvement of an orthodontic bracket positioner for inner teeth side application, wherein an elongated slot is formed along an edge portion of a horizontal metal plate. A plurality of bracket holders are engaged to the elongated slot by a bolt and nut with a spring so that the bracket holders are movable along the slot. However, such a conventional device has a disadvantage in that the brackets are not easily released from the bracket holder. To release the bolt and nut, connecting mechanism, from the fixedly engaged position, the bolt and nut has to be unfastened each time when the bracket holder needs to be removed from the metal plate.
There is a significant effort by the dental physician and discomfort to the patient each time the bracket holder needs to be removed or repositioned from the metal plate. This disadvantage highlights the need for an orthodontic design.